Mismanagement at Chittagong port

There is almost a break-down in the management of Chittagong Port which is the lifeline of the country's economy, according to The Financial Express (Bangladesh).

A meeting was held in the office of the Prime Minister on September 15 last to discuss the situation in Chittagong Port.

The principal secretary to the Prime Minister presided over the meeting. The port authority presented a paper in the meeting identifying the reasons for the precarious condition of the port. Representatives of shipping agents association, BGMEA, Chittagong Chamber and other organisations as well as the high officials of the port authority attended the meeting.

During the meeting the principal secretary instructed the chairman of the port to reduce the turnaround time in the port to a minimum promptly. One official of the port was transferred for inefficiency.

In the meeting, the shipping ministry and the port authority blamed each other for the deteriorating situation in the port. There is serious congestion of ships and containers due to mismanagement. Many ships have cancelled their Chittagong bound journey. Many exporters are worried about the shipment of their cargo.

It was decided in the meeting to set up within a week a port advisory committee, finalise the pre-qualifying tender for operation of the NCT, strengthen security for preventing theft of cargo from containers and install CCTV cameras. Special emphasis was given on controlling labour unrest.

Representatives of trade bodies called for taking action to tide over the situation. They said that there was no control mechanism in the port. Work has slowed in the container jetty.

There is no sign of reduction in container and ship congestion. The situation may worsen in the next few days with the arrival of more ships and containers. On September 17, the number of ships stood at 83 in the jetty and at the outer anchorage.

Many Chittagong bound ships from Singapore have cancelled their trips. The economy will be affected because of this. It is estimated that the garment sector has lost heavily in the past four months because of slow work in the port. Dhaka bound containers have piled up at the port.

The principal secretary said that the Prime Minister was concerned about congestion of ships and containers at the Chittagong port. He warned that if things did not improve, action would be taken against the concerned officials.

About 1,000 containers have piled up in the shed of the port. This is because of shortage of trains for carrying the containers to Dhaka. Railway officials said that even if there are wagons, there is shortage of engines. Therefore, container trains do not reach Dhaka in time.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)